This application is based on an application No. 2001-287667 filed in Japan, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting unit, a light-emitting unit combination, and a lighting apparatus assembled from a plurality of light-emitting units.
2. Related Art
With diversification of fashions and consumer tastes, designs of various products, both movables and immovables, are increasingly diversified in recent years. Lighting apparatuses are no exception. Attractive and functional designs which are free from conventional shapes are being proposed.
One example is a lighting apparatus that is assembled by connecting a plurality of flat light-emitting units. Such a lighting apparatus comes in several different shapes depending on how the plurality of light-emitting units are combined.
However, the number of shapes realized by this type of lighting apparatus is still limited, with there being only a low degree of design freedom.
The first object of the present invention is to provide a novel light-emitting unit that realizes an assembly in a wide variety of shapes of both flat (two-dimensional) and solid (three-dimensional) appearances.
The second object of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting unit combination that realizes an assembly in a wide variety of shapes of both flat and solid appearances.
The third object of the present invention is to provide a novel lighting apparatus that is assembled from a plurality of light-emitting units.
The first object can be achieved by a light-emitting unit including: a flat member which has a round shape; a light-emitting member which is provided on a main surface of the flat member; at least three sets of terminals which are provided on a periphery of the flat member so as to be apart from each other; and a wiring pattern which is provided to the flat member to connect each set of terminals with the light-emitting member.
Here, xe2x80x9cproviding at least three sets of terminals on the periphery of a flat round memberxe2x80x9d does not necessarily mean these sets of terminals are positioned at the very outer edges of the flat round member. They may instead be positioned a predetermined distance inside the outer edges of the flat round member.
The second object can be achieved by a light-emitting unit combination including: at least two light-emitting units, each light-emitting unit including: a flat member which has a round shape; a light-emitting member which is provided on a main surface of the flat member; at least three sets of terminals which are provided on a periphery of the flat member so as to be apart form each other; and a wiring pattern which is provided to the flat member to connect each set of terminals with the light-emitting member, wherein one set of terminals of a light-emitting unit is set facing one set of terminals of another light emitting unit, and corresponding terminals out of the facing sets of terminals are electrically connected.
The third object can be achieved by a lighting apparatus including: a plurality of light-emitting units; and a feeder unit which is connected to an external power supply, wherein each light-emitting unit includes: a flat member which has a round shape; a light-emitting member which is provided on a main surface of the flat member; at least three sets of terminals which are provided on a periphery of the flat member so as to be apart from each other; and a wiring pattern which is provided to the flat member to connect each set of terminals with the light-emitting member, the feeder unit includes: a flat substrate which has a round shape; and at least three sets of feeder terminals which are provided on a periphery of the flat substrate so as to be apart from each other, corresponding feeder terminals out of the at least three sets of feeder terminals being connected in parallel, the plurality of light-emitting units and the feeder unit are joined at predetermined areas so as to form a polyhedral figure, the predetermined areas each being an area where one set of terminals of a light-emitting unit is put facing one set of terminals of another light-emitting unit or one set of feeder terminals of the feeder unit, with corresponding terminals out of the facing sets of terminals of the light-emitting units being electrically connected to each other, and the plurality of light-emitting units are each electrically connected to the feeder unit in parallel.
The third object can also be achieved by a lighting apparatus that receives power from an external power supply circuit, including: a plurality of light-emitting units, each light-emitting unit including: a flat member which has a round shape; a light-emitting member which is provided on a main surface of the flat member; at least three sets of terminals which are provided on a periphery of the flat member so as to be apart from each other; and a wiring pattern which is provided to the flat member to connect each set of terminals with the light-emitting member, wherein the plurality of light-emitting units are joined at predetermined areas so as to form a polyhedral figure, the predetermined areas each being an area where one set of terminals of a light-emitting unit is put facing one set of terminals of another light-emitting unit, with corresponding terminals out of the facing sets of terminals being electrically connected to each other, and the plurality of light-emitting units are each electrically connected to the external power supply circuit in parallel.